Brawl At The Ball
by P.J. Lowry
Summary: Bruce Wayne is invited to a pretegious Valentine's Day ball and ends up getting more than what he bargained for...


The Valentine's Day ball was one of the biggest social events of the year. It was hosted by Gotham's finest fashion designer who was one of the greatest in the country, and only those of special privilege and social status were worthy enough to garner an invite to his events. It was a black tie, red carpet affair that over the years became the city's most beloved social gatherings that not only interested the public but was an annual trend setter for the fashion industry. Bruce Wayne was invited to this ball every year but was always a no show, for obvious reasons. He was sitting in the cave one night when Alfred came down with the mail and a cup of coffee. He passed the batch of letters over and placed the thick coffee mug onto the console. As Bruce was flipping through the letters, he recognized the flamboyant elegance that usually came with an invite to the Valentine's Day ball of Marcel Rousseau.

Bruce took a quick look at it and then shot a glance back at Alfred. "And why didn't this go into the shredder with the rest of the junk mail?"

"I thought you might want to attend this year's gala, Master Wayne." Alfred said. To Bruce's surprise he was dead serious.

"What makes you think I want to waste a full night of work attending a 'gala' dedicated to an event that I normally don't pay much attention to in the first place?"

"Well, Master Bruce, I do remember having a conversation with you a few weeks ago about a certain lady friend that you've been itching to ask out. I seem to recall you looking for something to invite this special lady that you work with for some time now." Alfred was treading very lightly but his point seemed to be coming across. "Last time I checked, there is hardly a woman alive that will turn down an invitation to anything hosted by Marcel Rousseau."

"What makes you think she'll react the same way?" Bruce said as he took the cowl off and opened the envelope, "She doesn't seem to be the kind of person who might care for something like this."

"Most ladies enjoy an excuse to wear something fancy, especially a new dress." Alfred said as he walked over and handed him a small list of names and numbers. "If you want to get a positive response from your invite, I would recommend surprising her by adding a dress to go with your invitation."

Bruce paused for a second. "I don't even know her size."

"You're the detective Master Wayne, I'm sure you'll find a way to get the figures you need." And with that the butler took his leave and went back to the manor.

Bruce sat there looking at the invitation and decided he was going to take a chance and invite her to the ball. To get around to finding out her numbers, he made a proposal at work to introduce a new work uniform. Everyone didn't like the idea, but humored Bruce long enough to get everyone's measurements, including the lady he was eager to take out for the special event. After that he pretended to change his mind for the sake of morale and let the issue go, and a week later invited his lady friend to the gala event. He surprised her with a very expensive designer gown inside a box with the invite for her to look at. Bruce was very nervous to see her response because unlike Alfred he was afraid that she was going to toss both the invite and the dress into the trash and possibly him with it. But to Bruce's complete surprise the old man was right, as she smiled back at him with a glow that he had never seen before. She of course accepted the invitation to the gala and showed complete eagerness to wear the gown that Bruce had tailor made for her. Everyone at work was completely surprised that the lady, who was usually very tough on everyone, was very easy going and light on everyone that week. Not taking things too seriously and obviously looking forward to the event that was to come.

Bruce was in his dressing room in the manor, putting on one of his better tuxedos when Alfred came in to check on his boss. He took some lint of the back of his jacket with a roller and straightened out the shoulders, "There's no need to worry about tonight's watch. Master Dick has come back into town take over your tour of the city and make sure you're not interrupted. Clark and Wally are in the watchtower tonight and Master Clark told me to let you know that he will help Dick should he require any assistance."

"All right, I get the point." Bruce said as he straightened his bowtie, "No work tonight and concentrate on the big date."

"Your date is waiting for you in the main foyer." Alfred said with a smile, "The limo is waiting outside. I recommend leaving the car here since you'll likely be drinking some of the bubbly tonight. It's the responsible thing to do, Master Wayne."

"Understood." Bruce said as he walked out of the dressing room fully satisfied with how he looked, he proceeded to watch down the massive stairwell to the main foyer. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw her standing on the other end and she was dressed in the custom gown that he had made for her just for the occasion. She looked stunning, and Bruce could feel an extra pitter patter in his chest from the excitement of being with her. He felt like a teenager getting ready to go out to the prom. He palms were a little sweaty and his collar felt a little tighter as he walked up to greet her with a wide grin on his face.

The staff all came out to watch them meet up in the foyer and Alfred watched from the top of the staircase, enjoying the decadence of the moment, "Good luck, Master Wayne." He said out loud to no one in particular as he watched the two of them walk out of the foyer and into the stretched limo that was waiting outside. Alfred watched as many of the younger staffers all huddled up to the windows to watch them leave as they giggled like schoolgirls who were watching someone holding hands during recess.

Bruce didn't seem to notice or care and both he and his date stepped into the car and sped off for their lavished destination. They didn't say very much during their ride, they just held hands and shared an occasional glance as the limo coasted over to the ball. But as they were getting closer to their destination, Bruce pulled out a small box from a compartment in the limo and offered it to her, "I have one more thing to make this night special."

"Oh Bruce," she replied with a faint smile, "You didn't have to buy me something else to make this night special."

"It's not what you think." Bruce replied with an innocent smile. "I never went to my high school prom as I was still going through a really rough phase in my life. So I never had the chance to give one of these away to someone for an event like this." He opened the small box to reveal a small yet elegant corsage.

"It's beautiful." She said with a smile as she took the flower out of the box and wrapped it around her wrist, tying it softly on. "Thank you very much." She leaned over and gave Bruce a soft kiss on the lips.

Before they knew it, they had arrived to Marcel Rousseau's extravagant ball. The limo parked in front of the red carpet, and Bruce stepped out first so that he could offer a hand and help his date step out of the vehicle. They trolled down the red carpet like movie stars, paparazzi flashing pictures constantly as they walked down the carpet and into the ballroom. Once inside it was something out of a fairy tale. Everyone was elegantly dressed, people were dancing and others were near the bar and mingling. Before Bruce could say a word, his date took him by the hand. "I'd like to start this evening off with a dance."

"Of course." Bruce said with a smile as he walked the lovely lady to where everyone was dancing. They turned to face one another and swayed in the sea of couples for what seemed like only a few seconds but was two whole songs. Bruce would never admit it to anyone but he was genuinely having a very good time.

After their dance was over Bruce was about to show his date to the bar to order a drink but she stopped him mid-sentence, "Actually, I'm going to hit the little girls' room." She said with a pleasant smile. "I'll be right back." She left Bruce standing near the bar and retreated to the ladies room to take a break from the madness of the event and to catch a breather. Dancing and all these festivities really wasn't something she was used to, but she really liked Bruce and didn't want to disappoint him so she was putting on a good face for the whole evening, especially where this huge and very uncomfortable dress was concerned. After reliving herself, which in itself was a miracle with that ballroom dress, she went back to mirror to check on her makeup when she was approached by another woman. "Can I help you?"

"Probably not, but I'll ask anyway." The other lady replied rather sarcastically. "I'm just curious to how serious you and Bruce are. Have you known him very long or are you just the flavor of the week?"

She stopped fixing her long hair and turned to face the woman who clearly stepped over the line, "I've got news for you hun, I've know the man a lot longer than you have and know things about him only a small handful of people on this planet know."

"Oh really?" the other lady replied, "I highly doubt that."

"If that wasn't true then how would I know who you are, Ms. Selina Kyle?" Bruce's date gave her aggressor a very cocky smirk as she knew for the first time during this exchange that she had the upper hand. She knew who Selina was, but her identity was still a mystery to her.

"How do you know Bruce then?"

"We're co-workers." She walked up and was almost face to face with Selina when she made her next comment. "I'm really not in the mood for this Ms. Kyle, so if you don't mind I would prefer if you and your jealous streak get out of my face and leave Bruce and I alone for the rest of the night."

Selina apparently didn't show any signs of backing down. "Or what?"

"Or I'll make this bathroom your permanent litter box."

The reference to cats seemed to upset Selina even more as it was another revelation to how much she really knew, and it was all she could take. With little or no notice Selina reared back her left arm and took a swing at Bruce's date. It was a hard shot, one that sent the lady flying back against the wall as she was clearly surprised by what a wallop her punch had and how strong Selina really was. As Selina was coming in for another shot, it was her turn for a surprise as Bruce's date not only managed to block the second punch but returned with a crushing punch of her own. It was a punishing shot that sent Selina on her own trip to the other side of the room and crashing against that wall with a huge thud. All the other women in the bathroom where watching from the other side in shock as the two women sat there and looked at each other from the opposite ends of the bathroom.

Selina touched her top lip and realized that she was bleeding. She looked back at her adversary with complete revulsion, "I'm going to make you pay for that!" she shrieked.

Rather than cower in fear, Bruce's date stood up and instead took a defensive posture. "Bring it, bitch!"

Selina lunged at her with a forceful growl and attacked her opponent with a barrage of powerful fists and kicks. They were trading and blocking shots as the other women in the bathroom started to scream out of the bathroom and run of their lives as the room was serious trashed by the chaos ensuing inside. People began to stop what their were doing and take notice as loud sounds such as crashes, grunts, slaps, screams, and breaking mirrors came emanating from the ladies room, but for some reason no one dared enter the room out of a fear for their own safety. Then to everyone surprise, both women came busting through one of the walls, as their brawl spilled out into the ball room. Selina rolled away from her opponent and picked up a chair from one of the tables and hurled it, and the crowd watched in amazement not only at how far Selina managed to toss the chair but at the fact that Bruce's date managed to produce a perfect roundhouse kick that knocked the chair out of her way with the greatest of ease. From there she made a mad run at Selina and tackled her to the bar. The women from there began to exchange even more shots and the people began to clear out of that part of the ball as some people started to clear out and the police finally arrived to answer the call of a fight breaking out. The two women were more than content to ignore everyone around them when several police officers arrived and tried to break them apart. It wasn't a very smart idea as the two women tossed the guys aside and flung a few of them as far as twenty feet away.

It didn't seem anything was going to stop the chaos until someone came in to bring it all to an end, "Ladies, stop this right now!" The two women stopped swinging at each other as they both recognized the voice. They lowered their fists and looked up to see the very disappointed scowl of Bruce Wayne.

Both women had torn their dresses, were bruised and bleeding from fighting. They were also a little embarrassed to be like that in front of Bruce but that was the least of his worries as there were a lot more police officers there to apprehend them and take the ladies downtown.

Bruce walked up to Selina first, "I can clearly say I'm not surprised by this kind of behavior. However, that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed in you Selina. Don't put up a fight or I'll hand you over to Gordon myself."

Selina began to tear up and nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry, Bruce." She slowly walked over to the police officers and surrendered to their custody.

From there Bruce walked over and scanned over what was left of his date's dress. He offered her a hand and helped her to her feet. "I am however very surprised by your actions tonight. You're better than this. We're better than this. We're not above the law. We're supposed to set an example. What happened to you, Diana?"

Diana was also starting to cry, "I'm only human Bruce, and I succumbed to the same emotions that every woman has when another tries to cut in on what I have going with the man I like. I guess it got a little out of hand…"

Bruce looked at her with a sarcastic look on his face. "A little?"

Diana chuckled, "Okay, a lot." She looked over at the cops who were waiting. "Do I have to go with them as well?"

"I'm afraid so." Bruce answered. "We're not above the law, and that's what happens when you get into cat fights at prestigious events. I don't think Marcel is ever going to invite me to another event again."

"Thank Gaud." Diana said with a sigh of relief. "Because this dress was really getting on my nerves."

Bruce smiled and then gave Diana a soft hug, "I've already contacted Alfred. He said my lawyer will be at the station when you get there."

"How romantic." Diana replied with a grin. She kissed Bruce on the cheek before letting him go and then walked over and surrendered herself to Gotham's finest. They put her in cuffs, but allowed Bruce to put his tuxedo coat over her shoulders to keep her warm.

Bruce watched as Diana was taken away and couldn't help but wonder how things really could have gone if they had a normal date like everyone else. He then began to think about the lecture he was going to get the PR department of Wayne Enterprises the next day about this. Bruce Wayne's date gets into cat fight at the Rousseau gala event, next on entertainment news! It wasn't going to be pretty, but people would forget about it in a few weeks or so. Bruce was about to hit the bar for a hard drink when he noticed that his cell phone was buzzing. He flipped the phone open, "Bruce here."

_"A cat fight breaks out between Wonder Woman and Cat Woman, and you don't have the decency to let all the guys in the watch tower know about it?"_

"Shut up, Wally."


End file.
